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Bitter rivals dig in for war

BARELY eight miles separate Ewood Park from Turf Moor. Today, a convoy of 80 coaches will make the short journey east along the M65 from Blackburn to Burnley for their first meeting in the FA Cup for 45 years. Such is the rivalry between the east Lancashire clubs that all police leave has been cancelled and an extra 60 stewards have been drafted in to ease local tensions.

“I’ll have enough trouble sorting out my own family,” says Alex Wood, Burnley’s safety officer. “Three of my four sons support Blackburn, one’s Burnley, and my wife and I are both Burnley.” The rarity of local derbies — only four in 25 years — has merely heightened the sense of battle.

Down the road, Paul Agnew, head of PR at Ewood Park, has been a Blackburn fan for 41 years. “It’s not hatred, us and Burnley, it’s about bragging rights.” But he still manages